I’m not the only one to complain that eating healthy is expensive. I met Debra at the gym and she told me, “Yeah, I quit my diet because it was just too expensive.” Debra is young and just starting out in a new city, so money is tight. But is eating healthy really more expensive than eating junk food?
I tested this assumption. With my eat-whatever-whenever approach to dieting, I just bought food whenever I was hungry. The problem is that when you wait until you are hungry, you buy food you probably would avoid if you were not so hungry.
For instance, one of my favorite I-need-food-now meals is pizza. I know that if it’s late, I’m hungry and there is no food in the fridge, I’m tempted to order pizza. This hunger splurge costs me $22.
Looking through my receipts for food purchases over the last five months, here’s a rundown of where I spent money on the eat-whatever-whenever diet. On this diet, I only ate what I craved and only the amount that I craved.
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Eat-whatever-whenever diet budget
Mocha and bagel $5/ day seven days a week- $35
Cola $1.50 once a week
Ingredients for spaghetti or soup $21
Cookies & Milk $4.50
Mid-day sandwich $5
Ingredients for hamburgers with veggies $15
Salmon meal: rice, potatoes, onions $18
2 Meals at restaurant $20
Total on meals: $120 per week
Using the macronutrient diet, I know exactly what I’d eat for the entire week. So I can go to the grocery store once and buy everything I need. With a macronutrient diet, you don’t have to cut out junk food completely. You just need to keep in mind that too much junk food turns into fat.
Planned Macronutrient diet budget
8 lean, skinless chicken breasts $18
7 cans of tuna (or another lean fish) $7
28oz of lean beef $14
7 bowls of oatmeal or cereal $4
28 cooked cups of pasta or rice $3
7 protein shakes (made at home) $3.50
14 cups skim milk $3
21 servings of fresh fruit $10
2 Meals at a restaurant $20
Total on meals: $82.50
At $82.50 versus $120 a week, the planned macronutrient diet is a money saver. Don’t just believe me, just look through your own food bills over the last month and tally them up. Then figure out how much money a macronutrient diet would save you.